BJP to put demonetisation on backburner, promote local issues ahead of UP polls
In power at the Centre since 2014, the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh are tipped to be a key test of Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of the Centre's demonetisation move.
PM Modi.
Under attack from Opposition parties for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation measure, the BJP has made dramatic changes in its Uttar Pradesh campaign in an apparent bid to shift public attention from last November's controversial note ban.
Top BJP sources have revealed to India Today that they have redrawn their strategy for elections due this year in the country's most populous state in the light of the fierce assault that the Samajwadi Party, Congress and BSP have mounted on Modi for abruptly invalidating 86 per cent of currency two months ago.
HERE IS HOW BJP PLANS TO WOO VOTERS IN UP
- The BJP's campaign will now instead focus on local issues, ranging from condition of the economy to law and order, senior party officials said.
- In power at the Centre since 2014, the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh are tipped to be a key test of Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of demonetisation that the BJP has hailed as a decisive war on parallel economy but which its critics have called reckless.
- The saffron party's new approach is reflected sharply in a series of fresh posters and hoardings that will be put up across the state ahead of the start of voting.
- Written mostly in Hindi for the target audience, the BJP's latest campaign material seeks to turn people's attention to issues of migrant workers, joblessness, extortion, kidnappings and crimes against women in Uttar Pradesh.
- The posters depict sharp two-liners underlining pictures and problems of casual labourers, street vendors, senior citizens, young and middle-aged women.
- "Kab tak palayan ko majboor rahenge; ab aur nahin sahenge," (For how long will we be forced to migrate, this we will no longer tolerate) reads a poll banner on work-related migration stemming from unemployment. The poster carries the picture of a poor worker, sitting out in the cold.
- Another banner shows the image of an elderly, stern-eyed tea-seller.
- Almost all posters have "parivartan", or change, as the buzzword highlighting the BJP's campaign.
- Insiders also told India Today that the party would project no one as its candidate for the chief minister's post till the results were announced.
- Prime Minister Modi will remain the face of the party's entire election campaign.
- "We'll counter our critics on local issues. No local or national leader, other than PM Modi, will feature prominently in our campaign material," said a senior BJP functionary.
- Winning elections in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP has been out of power for 14 years now, has become a prestige issue for the party, he admitted.
- The results, the official said, would have strong sentimental effect on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where elections are due later this year.
- PM Modi's Dec 31 address, said another senior BJP leader, would serve as a blueprint for party speeches, with a spotlight on issues surrounding farmers, women, small traders and the elderly.
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